Diane Rees, left, and Katy Atkinson of Voter Approval of Debt Limits turn in petitions, with more than 7,500 signatures, to Boulder City Clerk Alisa Lewis on June 28, 2013. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)

In closing arguments of an election-fraud complaint before the Boulder city clerk Friday morning, an attorney for New Era Colorado said the petitions that put an Xcel Energy-supported charter amendment onto the ballot were built on a "house of lies," while an attorney for the group that collected the signatures countered that New Era had no evidence and was simply spinning "political rhetoric."

After more than four hours of testimony Thursday, closing arguments were made before City Clerk Alisa Lewis Friday morning as New Era -- which opposes the ballot measure that would require voters to approve the total debt limit of a future municipal utility -- seeks to keep the amendment to the city charter off the ballot.

Lewis said she will make a ruling on the complaint by the end of next week.

"Many good honest people worked hard to enact municipalization," New Era attorney Aaron Goldhamer said. "It is threatened to be undone by deception and fraud."

New Era is contending that Voter Approval of Debt Limits -- the group behind the measure -- and its petitioners violated the law and asked for the signatures collected by two of its petitioners be invalidated.

"In sum, dare I say it, it was a house of lies," Goldhamer said. "Paid outsiders came into this town and lied for monetary gain."

But Mark Grueskin, an attorney for Voter Approval of Debt Limits, said New Era had no solid evidence of violations and can't point to specific signatures that were the result of violations.

"If they could point you to specific signatures, we would actually be adjudicating something," Guerskin said. "But right now were having a political conversation."

Lewis last month verified that Voter Approval of Debt Limits had submitted more than enough valid signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.

The charter amendment says voters would have to approve the total debt limit of a municipal utility, that affected customers in unincorporated Boulder County would need to vote in that debt limit election if the city serves outside its boundaries, and that those elections can only occur in odd years.

Xcel Energy has formed an issue committee to support the charter amendment. The Boulder City Council has moved forward a competing debt-limit ballot measure.

New Era filed its fraud complaint on July 29, triggering the hearing.

Goldhamer, during his closing argument, played a video that recorded what he says are misleading statements by petitioner Mae Cornish, and Steven Fenberg, New Era's executive director, also testified he saw Cornish writing on some of the petition packets, raising concerns about forgery and fraud. William Sperry is the other petitioner whose collected signatures are in question.

Neither Sperry nor Cornish testified at the hearing, which Goldhamer said was telling.

"They're accused of lying, fraud and election violations, and the appellee didn't provide anyone to deny those accusations.

Goldhamer also said other signatures -- including ones with illegible handwriting, erroneous dates or a lack of a printed name -- should be invalidated, saying based on the evidence of misconduct by the petitioners, they should not get any benefit of the doubt.

"Let's use some common sense. These are paid circulators, paid on a per-signature basis," Goldhamer said. "This is not how democracy should work in Boulder. Is it OK for people in the city of Boulder to lie to people to get them to sign something? The answer is no."

But Guerskin said the complaints about the signatures were "technical 'Gotchas!'" and said the video -- which Fenberg did say he edited -- was not proof of any wrongdoing. The burden of proof in the case is on New Era, and the organization must prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence before signatures will be invalidated.

"There were statements the protestors took objection to, that doesn't mean there was non-compliance," Guerskin said.

Guerskin also pointed out that Lewis verified 5,102 signatures, far more than the 4,549 signatures needed. He also said there were more than1,000 additional signatures that had not been verified yet because the group had already far exceeded the required amount.

"The point is, this is a numbers game, like it or not," Guerskin said. "Whether you like it or don't like it, this measure belongs on the ballot."

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story